Global Food Security Reauthorization Act of 2022 (H.R. 8446)

INTRODUCTION

The global food crisis appears to be facing an oncoming surge of record proportions. Hunger is at an all-time high and communities in the Middle East, Central Asia, and Africa are bearing the brunt of the crisis. Inflation is leading to soaring prices and exacerbating access issues while lowering production levels. Russia's war in Ukraine has only exacerbated the problem, with large shares of global cereal production hanging in the balance. Russia and Ukraine export nearly a third of the world's wheat and barley and more than 70 percent of its sunflower oil. Some 193 million people were acutely food insecure in 2021, a number expected to rise.

The Global Food Security Reauthorization Act of 2022 (H.R. 8446) builds upon the landmark Global Food Security Act of 2018. It reauthorizes the successful Feed the Future initiative, which since 2010 has been making progress and building on U.S. commitment to achieving global food and nutrition security. The life-saving programs carried out through Feed the Future have helped millions of people lift themselves out of poverty through improved agricultural production, market access, business development, private sector competitiveness, and nutrition interventions.

Feed the Future Accomplishments include:

• 23.4 million more people living above the poverty line;
• 5.2 million more families no longer suffering from hunger;
• 3.4 million more children living free from stunting;
• $15.3 billion earned by farmers in new agricultural sales;
• $4 billion unlocked in loans for smallholder farmers; and
• $2.2 billion leveraged in private sector investment

Introduced by Congresswoman Betty McCollum (MN-04), Congressman Chris Smith (NJ-04), as well as the Chair and Ranking Member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Congressman Gregory Meeks (NY-05), and Congressman Michael McCaul (TX-10) respectively, the newly-introduced legislation is bipartisan and supported by the world's leading organizations fighting global hunger.

RELEASE (July 25, 2022): MCCOLLUM, SMITH, MEEKS, MCCAUL INTRODUCE BIPARTISAN LEGISLATION REAUTHORIZING THE GLOBAL FOOD SECURITY ACT
RELEASE (Sept. 15, 2022): MCCOLLUM LEGISLATION TO REAUTHORIZE THE GLOBAL FOOD SECURITY ACT PASSES COMMITTEE

Legislation (H.R. 8446)

Fact Sheet

• 2010: Feed the Future launches as the U.S. Government's contribution to improving food and nutrition security. The initial phase focuses heavily on creating and leveraging multilateral resources, interagency coordination, partner country commitment, scaling up sustainable agriculture, and taking an integrated approach to food and nutrition security.
• 2014: Due to the successes seen in the first four years of Feed the Future programming and Congressional leaders' strong desire to see authorization of the Feed the Future Initiative, Congress introduces the Global Food Security Act (GFSA).
• 2016: The GFSA passes with overwhelming bipartisan support, codifying Feed the Future activities as a U.S. priority and improving the program by enhancing transparency, monitoring, evaluation and learning, and reporting. As required by the GFSA, the Global Food Security Strategy (GFSS) is developed. The GFSS kicks off the second phase of Feed the Future.
• 2018: The GFSA is reauthorized for an additional 5 years, passing unanimously in both Chambers and solidifying the U.S. commitment to achieving global food and nutrition security.
• Today: USAID and Congress are working to build on past successes of food security initiatives and legislation by recognizing the interconnection of development challenges and prioritizing coordinated efforts in nutrition, water, hygiene and sanitation, resilience, and country ownership. Reauthorization legislation is introduced.

Background, News, and Resources:

New York Times: Global Food Crisis Tests Western Resolve to Retain Russia Sanctions (June 27, 2022)
With a food shortage threatening to create widespread famine, Western countries face a tough choice as sanctions exacerbate the problem.

New York Times: G7 Leaders Promise $4.5 Billion to Address Global Hunger Caused by War in Ukraine (June 28, 2022)
The planned commitment, more than half of it from the U.S., reflects worldwide alarm at shortages in wheat and sunflower oil caused by Russia's invasion.

U.S. Department of State Fact Sheet: Russia's Disinformation Cannot Hide its Responsibility for the Global Food Crisis (June 22, 2022)

Al-Jazeera: How did the Russia-Ukraine war trigger a global food crisis? (June 18, 2022)
Russia and Ukraine export nearly a third of the world's wheat and barley and more than 70 percent of its sunflower oil.

• Food prices were rising before the invasion, stemming from factors including bad weather and poor harvests cutting supplies, while global demand rebounded strongly from the COVID-19 pandemic. Climate change has also played a role.
• 400 million people worldwide rely on Ukrainian food supplies. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) projects up to 181 million people in 41 countries could face a food crisis or worse levels of hunger this year.
• UN agencies estimated that more than 200,000 people in Somalia face "catastrophic hunger and starvation", roughly 18 million Sudanese could experience acute hunger by September and 19 million Yemenis face food insecurity this year.
• Wheat prices have risen in some of those countries by as much as 750 percent.
• UNICEF warned about an "explosion of child deaths" if the world focuses only on the war in Ukraine and doesn't act.

The Economist: An emerging global food crisis (May 17, 2022)
With no end to the war in sight, our experts discuss its effect on global food supplies, and how new members will change NATO